t was Steven who noticed it first. The noise was barely discernable, yet
the blinking light was unmistakable. He checked and double-checked before
shouting for the Doctor, not wanting the old man to dismiss him with a wave of
his hand and a curt word – he was used to that.

The Doctor took his time, not hurrying but ensuring when he did arrive that
he scrutinised the console for minutes, striving to ascertain that what Steven
had said was indeed correct.

To Steven the time seemed to pass imperceptibly slowly, the Doctor putting
on and removing his half moon spectacles what seemed like dozens of times. It
was he who was getting impatient, the Doctor’s measured approach irritating
him. His patience was usually so great – all that time held captive by the
Mechanoids had meant that he’d needed to keep sane, and being patient was the
only way to do that. His mind occupied itself, until eventually, he’d thought,
rescue would come. And indeed it did, in the form of the elderly gentlemen who
was now severely testing that patience.

'Well come on Doctor, is it or isn’t it?' He couldn’t wait any longer for
an answer so he had to force it out of the old man.

The Doctor didn’t seem to have heard him at first – or at least he feigned
deafness, another trait that was all too commonplace thought Steven. Then, the
Doctor looked up at his travelling companion and nodded sagely. 'You were very
wise to bring this to my attention, very wise indeed. It seems to be some kind
of message.'

Steven nodded. 'That’s what I thought. But is it a distress signal? Or some
sort of alien ‘hello’?' He paused. 'Or
maybe it’s some sort of advertisement? That’s the sort of thing they were
talking about when I was last on Earth, before the wars.'

The Doctor waved his hands in Steven’s direction. 'None of those dear boy,
or unless...' He raised a finger to his lips, seeming deep in thought. 'Unless
of course it’s all of them, hmm...'

'All of what?' Vicki yawned as she strolled into the console room.

Steven pointed at the blinking light on the console and watched as Vicki
followed his own gaze. She then looked to the Doctor, and then back to Steven
who nodded as if answering a question that need not be spoken.

The Doctor turned to Vicki. 'Ah my child, you’re awake. Steven and I were
discussing what sort of message this light here was indicating.'

Steven rolled his eyes and mumbled, 'Hardly a discussion.' The scowl he got
from the Doctor showed that he’d definitely heard this time. Steven smiled
pleasantly in an attempt to placate him, the Doctor hurrumphing all the while.

The Doctor was about to speak when Vicki beat him to it. 'We’ve landed!'
The noise around the room was eerily quiet. The TARDIS’s central column had
stopped, the cacophony of sound that accompanied it also gone. The travellers
looked at each other in confusion, and turned almost simultaneously at the
faint noise of the scanner screen turning on.

The image that presented itself was nothing especially unusual. A couple of
white coated scientists were milling about in a vast laboratory, the TARDIS not
seeming to take much of their attention.

'Any ideas where we are Doctor?' Vicki was staring intently at the screen,
watching the men moving around. She wasn’t sure, but something seemed a little
odd about their movements.

The Doctor too was studying the image closely, scrutinising the actions of
the figures. Suddenly another figure had appeared in the room, one the Doctor
recognised all too well. He whirled around, and his suspicions were confirmed
immediately.

'He’s gone! Just walked out of those doors, the impetuous young
fellow!' The Doctor moved to the ship’s
entrance himself, but as he approached, the doors seemed to shut of their own
accord.

Vicki was staring at the screen now, watching Steven attempt to engage the
men in conversation. 'Doctor, they’re ignoring him! It’s as if he’s invisible!'

'Yes, yes that’s very interesting.' The Doctor looked back to the screen,
his brief anger subsiding as he watched the two men still ignoring Steven. He
saw Steven attempt to contact them, waving a hand in front of their faces, but
no recognition. The two men at various times stood directly in front of the
TARDIS but seemed to have no awareness of it.

Vicki squinted at the screen, the movements of the men puzzling her.
'Doctor, is it me or...'

They both stood gazing at the screen for a couple of minutes, the figures
moving back to the positions they’d started in. 'It’s some kind of loop! Yes,
the same actions repeated.' The Doctor chuckled. 'How very strange my child!'
Yet the realisation of what else this meant suddenly dawned on him as Steven
began to repeat his own actions, moving towards the TARDIS, trying to attract
the attention of the men, then starting again. And again.

The Doctor looked at Vicki, who stared at him open mouthed. 'But Steven’s
trapped out there! We have to help him!' She made for the door, the Doctor
following as fast as he could. Yet both had barely moved when the scanner
flickered off, and the ship began the elephantine trumpeting that signalled its
departure.

'No, no, no!' The Doctor moved around the console with surprising speed,
trying with all his might to stop the Ship from moving, but to no avail.

'Doctor, you’ve got to do something! We can’t abandon Steven there! We
don’t even know where he is!'

The Doctor chose not to react, instead turning away from the console in
frustration. 'Infernal time distortion! That’s what it is my child.' He raised
a hand. 'But don’t worry we’ll get Steven back.' Under his breath and out of
Vicki’s eyeshot he added, 'I hope.'

~~~

artwork by ANDY LAMBERT

used with permission

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Inferno Fiction is an on-line Doctor Who Fiction Fanzine. First created in the 80's when fanzines in the printed form were the norm, the fanzine has now leapt onto the world wide web and is enjoyed by many across the world!

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